It Was A Dark and Stormy Night!

I woke up this past Sunday morning surprised to see that it had snowed over night.  It wasn't any major snowfall, only an inch or so, but just enough to cover the driveway and sidewalk.  I was surprised because the forecast for the week hadn't mentioned anything about snow, only that the temperatures were going to be unseasonably high for the next five days. When I saw the white stuff on the ground I couldn't help thinking back to thirty six years ago, just this time of year, in fact, to another unexpected snow event that will stay in my memory forever.

It was the third weekend in February of 1980 and my wife and I had just been blessed, through adoption, with a baby girl.  Our daughter, Lindsay, had arrived on this earth on January 14 of that year and six weeks later, on February 21, a Thursday evening, to be exact, we received a call saying that we should drive to Sioux City to meet her for the first time and to bring her home to stay.  

Lindsay on February 22, 1980.
The day that we first brought her home.
She was six weeks old.

We spent the next two days, Friday and Saturday, shopping with Lindsay for baby supplies and getting to know each other and to bond.  On Sunday morning, February 24, we decided that we wanted to share our good fortune with family and so we decided to take a trip to Windom, Minnesota so that my parents could meet their new granddaughter.  We were living in Cherokee, Iowa at the time and it was about a 100 mile trip, or just under two hours to Windom.  We loaded up our ’77 Dodge Charger and off the three of us went.  We had a great afternoon at my parents house and I remember being as proud as the proverbial peacock being able to show this adorable little bundle to Mom and Dad.  They were thrilled and both of them fussed over her quite a bit, something that wasn't all that normal for my dad.

We ate a late afternoon meal in Windom and headed for home just as it was starting to get dark. By the time we had made it to Worthington, just 28 miles down Minnesota highway 60, it had started to snow lightly.  But it seemed to be just flurries and nothing to worry about.  However, when we got to the Iowa border, just 10 miles south of Worthington the snow had started to come down more heavily and it was starting to accumulate just a little on the highway.  I had driven through some bad weather a number of times before and this snowfall certainly wasn't going to be anything more than a minor annoyance.  I was sure about that, so I wasn't at all worried.

Twenty two miles farther south, at Sanborn, Iowa things were not looking so good.  The snowfall by now was heavy and visibility was extremely limited.  As I recall, I was now only able to drive 35 to 40 miles per hour and, I'm sure, I was starting to grip the wheel just a little bit tighter.  If you've ever driven in a heavy snowfall I'm sure you know what I mean by that.  By this time LeeAnn and I were both starting to worry about the baby and I know that I was also questioning my common sense as well as my worthiness to be a father.  I started wondering how any responsible parent could bring their precious infant daughter out into dangerous conditions such as this.

Just to the east of Sanborn we turned south on Highway 59 and headed for Cherokee, just 35 more miles to go.  But this wasn't going to be an easy 35 mile drive.  The wind had picked up now and it was out of the west blowing snow across the roadway and causing white out conditions that were so bad that, at times, made it hard to see anything beyond the hood of my own car. Eventually we crawled in to the little town of Primghar and got some temporary relief driving through town.  The lights along the highway made it easier to see and I recall that we gave some thought to trying to find a hotel or someplace to stay and wait out the storm.  

The lure of the warmth and safety of home was evidently too strong, however, and so we pressed on.  Cherokee was now just 28 miles further and, if we had made it this far, surely we could make it 28 more miles if I was really, really careful.  Lindsay, was strapped in the back seat and sleeping through all of this.   Just six weeks old, she wasn't worried one bit.  Her new parents, however, were frightened and frazzled.

Just south of Primghar driving became virtually impossible.  The snow had accumulated on the roadway to the point that the car was straining to get through it.  There was no way to tell if I was in the right lane or not.  In fact, it was not even possible to be sure that I was on the road at all.  Everything was white and covered with snow.  I couldn't tell the roadway from the ditch and the snow was falling and drifting furiously making visibility impossible.  I could not see where I was going.

At this point I was dragging along at 5 miles per hour and both LeeAnn and I had our windows rolled down, me trying see where the road was and she trying to see where the ditch was, when I noticed a light in the window of a farm house on the left.   I inched along as slowly as I could, just enough to keep the car moving without getting stuck in the snow.  I was sure that I saw the farm driveway so I turned toward it and gunned the engine just enough to get the car off of the highway and up into the end of the driveway. I remember telling LeeAnn that I was going to see if whoever lived there could help, but I had no idea what I really expected.  I just knew that I couldn't go any farther.

As I walked up the driveway, stumbling through the piles of snow, I noticed that a man had come to the door and was watching my approach.  I remember that he shouted something to me, but I couldn't make out what he said, so I just hollered back at him telling him that I had my wife and baby in the car, we were on our way to Cherokee, and we just couldn't make it any further.  Thankfully, the man told me to get my wife and baby out of the car and come on in.

It was a young farm family that lived there.  We recounted the details of our driving adventure and they understood our plight and took pity on us.  They said that we should not worry about trying to get to Cherokee that night and they would let us stay with them.  They apologized that they had no spare room for us but said that, if we didn't mind sleeping on the living room floor, they did have plenty of extra blankets and pillows.  I can't even begin to describe the relief that I felt, and the gratitude.  We were safe and warm, all three of us including the baby, and that was most important.

The morning came and the snow had stopped.  We said our thank yous and goodbyes to the family that had been so gracious and hospitable and then the  farmer helped me dig our car out so that I could back onto the highway and proceed home to Cherokee.  The highway was treacherous as the plows hadn't been out yet, but the visibility was perfect.  It was a cold, crisp, clear morning.  With God’s help, and that of the family of "Good Samaritans" that he led us to, we had survived this ordeal.  

Over the years the memory of that night and the strong emotions that came with it, have vividly stayed with me.  Because of that experience, I'm smarter now. I always check the weather report before heading out on the highway and I just won't go anywhere in bad weather if I can help it.  Lindsay survived the whole thing quite well too. She grew up to be an incredible young woman. Smart, talented and beautiful.  Pretty much everything you could hope for in a daughter.  I can't help but think that there must be some memory of that terrible, cold, snowy night stuck somewhere in her psyche too, though, as she grew up hating the snow and cold of midwest winters and now lives in the warm and dry climate of Arizona. So you see, just like me, she’s smarter now too.

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